The present invention relates generally to reclamation systems for separating pollutants from a fluid, and more particularly, to a separation device that separates large debris particles from a fluid.
Fluid reclamation systems for separating pollutants from a fluid are generally well known by those in the arts. One application in which reclamation of a fluid is especially important is mobile cyclonic power wash systems. As known by those skilled in the art of cleaning large, flat surfaces, mobile cyclonic washers have provided a significant advancement in cleaning technology over traditional cleaning methods. Throughout this disclosure the large, flat surfaces to be cleaned will be described generally, in a non-limiting manner, as airport runways and tarmacs, since mobile cyclonic washers have found significant commercial success in these applications. Traditionally, these types of surfaces have been cleaned with generic cleaning tools, such as high pressure sprayers and street sweepers. Thus, in a typical cleaning example, an operator sprays a fluid (usually water) on the airport runway with a high pressure sprayer to dislodge unwanted debris from the surface. Then, after the operator has completed an area, a street sweeping machine will follow to collect the residue from the surface. However, as those skilled in the art recognize, this method and those similar to it are considerably less efficient and controllable than mobile cyclonic wash systems.
Typically, a mobile cyclonic washer includes a retrieval unit that sprays fluid onto the surface at high pressure. The fluid cleans the surface by dislodging debris when the high velocity fluid strikes the surface. Contemporaneously, the retrieval unit recovers the fluid and dislodged matter and transports the polluted mixture to a mobile reclamation system. The reclamation system then separates the pollutants from the fluid and transports the cleaned fluid back to a storage tank where it can be reused by the retrieval unit.
The mobile cyclonic washer provides significant advantages over traditional cleaning methods. For example, one problem with traditional cleaning methods is that the high pressure sprayer randomly scatters the loosened debris across the runway surface, making it difficult to fully collect all the debris. In addition, the high pressure sprayer leaves fluid spread across the runway. This allows the polluted mixture to flow into drainage systems before it can be collected and also requires more drying time before the runway can be used again. The mobile cyclonic washer eliminates these problems by collecting virtually all of the polluted fluid immediately after loosening the debris, leaving the surface clean and dry. The mobile cyclonic washer also uses a smaller fluid reserve since the washer cleans and reuses the same fluid instead of leaving the fluid on the runway like traditional methods. In contrast, traditional methods usually require a large storage vehicle to provide a constant supply of fresh fluid to the high pressure sprayer. Furthermore, the mobile cyclonic washer cleans surfaces faster with less manpower because only a single pass is needed by the washer compared to multiple passes by a sprayer and a street sweeper with the traditional method.
Because the mobile cyclonic washer reuses its cleaning fluid, the capacity of the reclamation system has a substantial impact on the performance of the washer. Typically, a variety of debris and contaminants are collected from surfaces like airport runways. In order to properly clean the surface, it is particularly important that the reclamation system adequately separate these pollutants from the fluid before reuse to prevent the pollutants from being redeposited onto the surface. Thus, the speed of the separation process can have a direct impact on the area that can be cleaned within a given time. Faster separation also allows the washer to operate with less fluid in the system than is needed with slower separation processes.
One problem with most fluid reclamation systems used on current mobile cyclonic washers is the lack of a separate system for separating large debris particles from the polluted mixture. Typically, the polluted fluid mixture that is collected by the retrieval unit contains a substantial amount of large debris particles, such as rubber, grease, sand, dirt and metal. However, in many reclamation systems these particles are separated from the fluid by the same reclamation tank and filters that are also intended to separate small debris particles and chemical contaminants. As a result, the large debris particles quickly fill the reclamation tank and plug the filters, thus reducing the effectiveness of the reclamation system and the performance of the washer. Other systems have incorporated screens into the reclamation tank to filter out the large debris particles before the polluted mixture begins the usual separation process. However, this alternative has been ineffective because the screen quickly becomes plugged with the large debris particles. For example, in some trials with a screen such as this, the screen must be manually cleaned after every fifteen minutes of operation. Another problem with current reclamation systems is the inability to segregate and store the large debris particles. With current mobile cyclonic washers the large debris particles typically accumulate in the reclamation system during a particular cleaning job. Eventually, when the washer is no longer able to clean the surface adequately because of the excess debris in the reclamation system, the operator manually cleans the system in a labor intensive procedure. The owner of the washer then becomes responsible for disposing of the debris, which oftentimes includes hazardous materials requiring special disposal measures.
Accordingly, a reclamation system with a separation device is provided that separates large debris particles from a polluted mixture before a filtering system separates small debris particles from the fluid. The separation device includes an endless screen that rolls around rotatable cylinders. Fluid is spread across a top surface of the screen by a distributor. A basin collects the fluid and small debris particles that pass through the screen and discharges the fluid to the filtering system. A disposal mechanism with a rotating brush then discards the large debris particles from the screen and discharges the particles into a storage barrel.